Carson earned a masters in zoology at Johns Hopkins (magna cum laude) in 1929 and when hired as an aquatic biologist was the second female employed full-time at the US Bureau of Fisheries in 1932. In the 1950s she wrote three national bestsellers drawing public attention to environmental issues; The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea resulted in Carson being awarded two honorary doctorates and Silent Spring (1962) led to the ban on DDT and other pesticides and inspired a grassroots environmental organization that would later form the Environmental Defense Fund. June 9, 1980 Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, by President Jimmy Carter in recognition of her influence on national policy and her foundational role in the environmental movement. Carlson was described as ‘quiet, diffident, neat, proper and without affectation,’ but according to TIME, she was not prim despite her modesty and restraint: “She had a mischievous streak, a tart tongue and confidence in her own literary worth.”

Fans of LUPEC, celebrate earth day (and the mischievous women in your life) by making your Last Words green and your cocktailing greener –- recycle, start an herb garden, buy local and support your local gin joints that are already faithfully doing their part (more on that next!)